Blythedale Children’s Hospital in Valhalla is seeking approvals from the Town of Mount Pleasant for plans to expand its facility at 95 Bradhurst Ave. The town’s Planning Board has been reviewing site plans for what would be a project to be completed in three phases.
Blythedale wants to: build a one-story parking structure containing approximately 132 parking spaces; construct a “ring road” around the existing hospital building together with related infrastructure work; and build a two-story addition to the existing hospital building to add 44 residential health care facility beds.
“With more than 130 years of experience, we are a nationally recognized leader in developing innovative, multidisciplinary programs to help children with complex medical needs reach their maximum potential and return to their homes and families as soon as possible,” explained Blythedale’s CEO Larry Levine. ” By expanding our residential health care/long-term care facilities, we will significantly increase our capacity to serve children with complex medical needs.”
Blythedale is located on about a 12.6-acre site and currently has a two-story hospital building that includes 94 pediatric beds, 24 skilled nursing home/long-term care beds and a Day Hospital Program that provides intensive rehabilitation therapy to children who return home at night. The Day Hospital Program is in partnership with the Mount Pleasant Blythedale School District.
Levine says that the expansion project would be conducted in three phases.
Phase 1 would involve construction of the parking structure and making modifications to the existing surface parking lot. It would be completed by May of next year. The structure would have a canopy of solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations.
Phase 2 includes construction of improvements to site utilities including gas, electric and water, replacement of an electrical generator, demolition of balcony, renovation of a loading dock and site work to provide a complete “ring road” around the hospital. Phase 2 would take place from October 2026 to March 2027.
Phase 3 is for the new two-story wing to be constructed, attached to the existing long term care unit. In addition to added beds, the addition would include staff support spaces. The Phase 3 timeline is October 2026 to February 2028.
“Our team has worked diligently with our consultants to develop a campus expansion plan that limits visual impacts of the project on the surrounding neighborhood,” Levine said. “This includes evaluating all site lines from neighboring properties and planning for landscaping improvements … to effectively screen the project from neighboring properties to the extent possible.”
A traffic and parking study was prepared by Colliers Engineering and Design. It found that the proposed 132-space parking structure would eliminate the current parking shortage at Blythedale in addition to providing the spaces needed by the new addition.
“The expansion of parking on the site will help alleviate current shortfalls and accommodate the expected additional demands. Depending on the number of additional parking spaces that can be provided on the site as part of the project, it may be desirable to maintain the existing valet parking for some time after occupancy of the expansion until such time it can be determined that there is sufficient available parking on the site that would allow for the valet to be discontinued or be maintained as an amenity for hospital visitors only,” the Colliers study said.
Colliers also found that additional traffic generated by the expansion will not have a significant impact on the area.
“This project will bring significant benefits to our community and the state of New York by increasing access to specialized long-term pediatric care, reducing wait times for children who urgently need the types of services that Blythedale provides, benefiting both the hospital and the surrounding neighborhood, and enhancing the overall capacity and efficiency of Blythedale Children’s Hospital,” Levine said.
